Reddit mentions: The best lab hydrometers

Your recipe sounds like it'll turn out well if all goes according to plan! You may want to add some sweetness back if it ferments dry, but you've got several weeks to figure that out and read the Wiki to get all caught up on the method and terminology to things like back sweetening and nutrient addition schedules. I admire that you're being industrious with your fermentation equipment, I wasn't brave enough to start fermenting with whatever I had on hand with my first batch.

If you think you'll stick with it, here's the equipment I used for my first batch. I highly recommend looking into it if you think you'll do another batch! (I apologize if you aren't in the US, Amazon is my go-to)

• Hydrometer - $15.99 | You'll definitely want one of these first! It'll help you figure out when fermentation is done, plus it's nice to know your ABV when your friends or family ask "How strong is this?" (if you like to share)
  
• One Gallon Glass Carboy with Airlock, Drilled Stopper, Polyseal Lid - $14.81 | A glass carboy could last you forever! These have done very well for me, and the included airlock will give you a great setup for less than $15. The screw-on cap is just an added bonus, I use mine when I cold-crash.
  
• Star San 16 oz - $16 | This seems like the go-to sanitizer for the sub, and I use it as well. If you think you'll do several batches, I recommend going with the 32 oz size instead! It's much cheaper per ounce.
  
• Campden Tablets aka K-Meta (Potassium Metabisulfite) - $6.08 | This will help you preserve and stabilize your mead before you bottle. Some people don't, but it's highly recommended!
  
• Auto Siphon - $13.99 | This makes racking to secondary and bottling much easier! When it comes time to bottling, it's also really nice to have a Bottling Wand - $5.86
  
  All-in-all, this is just about my current setup excluding yeast, yeast nutrients, and extra carboys and airlocks. The list above comes out to about $127.45 USD before tax, which really isn't too bad considering one gallon should yield just shy of 5 standard wine bottles! Most commercial meads I've seen ranges from $15-$25 with some exceptions (There's a winery near me called Oliver Winery that makes a mead called Camelot Mead that sells for about $8 per bottle. Very good for such a cheap mead, you can probably find it at Total Wine & More if you have one nearby).
  
  ​
  
  Sorry for such a long comment! Best of luck in your mead-making adventure!
  
  Edit: If you have a local homebrew store, I would opt for that rather than Amazon. Prices may not be as cheap but you won't have to wait for shipping, you'll be able to support a local business, and employees at homebrew stores are usually really helpful and they can recommend recipes and give you pointers. Nothing beats face-to-face interaction!

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you!

So there's a bunch of different resources. I started out with a simple set of instructions on how to make cider out of prebought apple juice. Googling "How to make wine" gives you a lot of different things.

And I'm not trying to say, "Google it yourself you lazy bastard." There's a lot to learn about making wine, and there's a lot of resources to get you started. I wouldn't just read one recipe. I'd read a bunch of them.

Here are the basics: Brewing alcohol is a chemical process where enzymes within yeast convert carbohydrates into CO2 and alcohol. They're the showrunners. You want to give them the best possible life you can. Keep in mind that alcohol is a sterilizer, so it will kill of the yeast if there's too much. For brewing, not distilling, the upper limit is 15% alcohol by volume. If there's too much alcohol, there's leftover sugar and the yeast dies. You can put in too much sugar that'll leave a sweet, burning flavor, but the good news is that you cannot put in too much yeast. It doesn't speed it up or hurt it, so I just use a packet of yeast.

The first thing is: Sanitize, not sterilize. Clean everything, even your hands, thoroughly through all the steps. Using wild or homegrown grapes can introduce wild yeasts and other molds into the mix, so you want to wash them thoroughly before the mashing begins and boil the juice to kill any strays.

I started out with a 10 pack of champagne yeast from Amazon and a bag of balloons from the dollar store. You can get better and more professional equipment as time goes on, but I'd say start small and cheap. Also, do not use bread yeast for winemaking. For cider, it's hardly going to make that much of a difference, but something like wine, you want to use a strain that's suited for it.

So, I'll give you a quick rundown: Go to Lowes or some home improvement store or homebrewing shop. Get a 1 gallon foodgrade tub, reuse a 1-gallon glass jug, or use a 1-gallon jug of purified water from a grocery store. If you reuse anything plastic, make sure it has a triangle with 1 in it. Clean it thoroughly with bleach or hot soap and water, though I prefer StarSan. It's a food-grade, non-toxic no-rinse solution. Mix 1 oz with 1 gallon warm water, gets all sudsy, and coat everything you're using with it. Let it dry. You're done. Bleach takes time because you will have to rinse and you'll have to wait for the bleach scent to dissipitate.

If you go to Lowes or anywhere like that, get a about 3-5 feet of clear, vinyl tubing. I grapped a few feet from 3/8" tubing that was on clearance, though it should run you less than five dollars no matter what.

Bust out a large pot, some cheesecloth or a metal mesh strainer.

Next level tools: Hydrometer, which is used to check the amount of sugar in it. A triple scale gives you the specific gravity, Brix, and potential ABV. They're all related in some way, which is good. I start somewhere around 13% ABV, but here's a site that breaks it down better than I could..

This is what I did, adopoted for an open-ended recipe:

• Separate grapes from stems. Toss out any that look moldy or have split already or have shriveled up entirely. If there's a black mark on it, it's still fine. Get about 3-4 pounds per gallon of water. Rinse thoroughly with cool water, if you have Star San on hand, wouldn't hurt to wash them with a little of that and rinse it off.
  
• Mash the grapes up, separating the pulp and seeds from the skin^1. If you're making red wine, retain the skins. If you're making white wine, discard. Best to discard the seeds as they'll impart a bitter flavor. Strain through the wire mesh carefully, as you'll build up a bunch of gunk. White grapes will become cloudy and brown as they oxidize. That's fine. Bring to a boil then simmer, stirring in your sugar into the mix to sweeten. Use approximately 2-3 cups.
  
• Once cooled, strain into container and return skins if you're making red wine and add filtered water. You can keep the skins in a mesh bag or a little "teabag" made out of cheesecloth^1. It's okay if it floats. Use the hydrometer to check where you stand, stir in more sugar if necessary (I prefer using simple syrup, but it's fine no matter what).
  
• Take about half a cup of your solution, add the yeast and wait 10-20 minutes until it starts bubbling. Pour into your mixture and stir in. For a jug, just put back on the cap and shake or swirl vigorously and then remove the lid. If you're using a food-grade bin, just stir with a spoon.
  
• If you're using a food-grade bin, secure the lid and find a way to secure your balloon there. For a repurposed 1-gallon jug, just stretch the balloon over the top and poke a some holes into it with a sterilized push-pin.
  
• Put it somewhere cool (63 F degrees is ideal, but I keep it in a cupboard in my kitchen which is usually in the low 70s F).
  
  ^1 You can also put the grapes into a fermentation bag or a mesh sack made from cheesecloth and squeeze out that way, keeping it to add back into the must once it's cooled. You can do it however you want.
  
  And wait.
  
  Like, 5-7 days. Transfer from one vessel into another by siphoning with your vinyl tube into a sanitized container of the same size. Affix another airlock. Wait at least 2 weeks to a month. Fermentation doesn't really stop. Transferring, or "racking," is helpful as you separate the "lees", or left-over crap of dead yeast and plant matter, behind. You don't want that to come with you. Each time you rack your wine, you'll have less lees than the previous time. You should only have to rack once or twice before you put it into your bottle. Once you seal the bottle, free oxygen can't just get in, so fermentation is effectively stopped. Corking lets in very minute amounts, while screw tops are a pretty solid seal. The reasoning is this: Aging is a settling process and a slow fermentation of any leftover sugars. Introducing oxygen back into the system allows aging to speed up, but too much and the wine spoils. Too little or not at all, and it just takes longer for it to happen.
  
  If you have a hydrometer, check to make sure the specific gravity is less than 1 but above .995. That's sort of the "sweet" spot for wine. Taste it, also. It'll require some aging and breathing to taste good, but that's a better indicator than anything else really. Once you're comfortable, transfer into wine bottles and cork or seal however you want. Corks are cheap, and a handcorker is the simplest instrument I could find that requires very little effort.
  
  And then age for a while. Or be impatient like I am, but let it breathe before you start drinking.
  
  Then when you feel comfortable, start getting the good stuff. I haven't got that far yet, where you get the Campden tablets (a better sanitizer) and the yeast nutrients and the autocane and the acid blends. Some people start with kits. I started with cider and moved up. It was low effort and low cost. I wasn't sure if it was something I had time for or patience for, so investing heavily upfront wasn't a good idea.
  
  I know there's a lot of words here. If you want better resources to get started, check out /r/winemaking and /r/homebrewing. Look up wine recipes and check out the myriad of homebrewing forums. Don't get overwhelmed and don't get ambitious. Start small and then go big.

Lets start at FG and OG which stands for final and original gravity. Original gravity is the density of the apple juice before you add anything to it(so basically open the apple juice and take the OG). The final gravity is the density after fermentation has completed. To measure OG and FG you will need a hydrometer or spectrometer. Hydrometers are really cheap and everyone starts out with this.

To take the OG siphon(you will probably want to get an auto siphon also not very expensive) of enough water juice into a plastic cylinder(like a graduated cylinder but with no precision marks and drop the hydrometer into the fluid. Then you simply read the marks on the hydrometer and that will be the OG. To get FG you just do this after fermentation. To determine when fermentation has stopped you getting taking hydrometer readings 1-2 days apart when the reading from one to the next are the same, fermentation is no longer active. Make sure you sanatize everything that will come in contact with the apple juice....hydrometer, cylinder, siphon, air locks, keeping the apple juice free of any living thing that is not yeast is a key to success here. If you do not have the OG and FG you will have a much harder time figuring out the ABV(alcohol by volume)

 

Link to an auto siphion (which you can purchase at a local home brew store)

 

Link to a hydrometer (which you can purchase at a local home brew store)

 

Link to sanitizer (which you can purchase at a local home brew store)

 

What is a cold crash. Exactly, you just bring down the temp to a serving temp. Simply put for the cold crash you need to keep the airlock on the glass jar and stick it in a regular fridge for 3 days time.

One other thing to mention. Cider yeast will want to ferment in the 60-75F degree range. Its best to get it between 62-68F however that's not always possible but it absolutely will produce some off flavors if you allow it to get above 75F degrees. The temp of the juice fermenting will be about 5 degree warmer than the ambient room temp because fermentation is an exothermic reaction(it gives off heat). Don't be scared at all, if you really want just ferment the apple juice at whatever room temp with just sugar yeast and juice. It will produce a drinkable alcoholic beverage. If you want to get further in an refine the hobby and make some honest to god delicious cider follow my steps. However I want you to know my first time brewing anything was a cider. I simply used wine yeast and apple juice. I used a condom as a fermentation lock and by god college kids drank every ounce of this brew that taste like a bready cideryish wierd thing. However it was awesome and I had a blast doing it.

tl;dr - I'd get this one, a spare hydrometer, a blowoff tube and enough bottles for 5 gallons of your beer.

I don't know about the quality of the items here but the main differences are:

• clear vs. opaque fermenter (6 Gallon Fermonster fermenter with spigot, stopper and airlock)
  
• thermometer vs. none
  
• hydrometer vs. none
  
• star san & cleaning tablets vs. no sanitizer & fermenter's favorites oxygen wash
  
• no coupon vs. 20% off coupon
  
  My opinion:
  
  
• I prefer a clear fermenter, it's cool (but keep them away from sunlight).
  
• Thermometers and hydrometers are vital. $20 you'll never regret spending, and keep a spare.
  
• Star San or a comparable sanitizers are vital. Keep some on hand in a spray bottle instead of dumping it all out after you brew.
  
• Fermenter's Favorites Oxygen Wash can supposedly make the bottling process easier if you're struggling to remove the labels and glue from old bottles. I formerly used soap and Star San without a problem but I keg now.
  
• Discounts are always nice.
  
  The $30 difference isn't worth the lack of Star San, hydrometer, and thermometer in the kit. Spend the money.

>from krisbrad via /r/Charlotte/ sent 1 minute ago
>
>Well good luck finding it, I'm sure with that attitude you won't have any problems.

You've just got your head in the sand, eh? Alternative Beverage is the local place, VS Goliaths like More Beer, Midwest Supply, and Amazon:

Here

• 12" False Bottom - Alt Beverage
  
• 12" False Bottom - Amazon
  
  are
  
  
• Alla Hydrometer - Alt Beverage
  
• Alla Hydrometer - Amazon
  
  some
  
  
• Irish Red extract ingredient kit - Alt Beverage
  
• Irish Red extract ingredient kit - More Beer
  
  examples...
  
  
• 6-Gal. Better Bottle - Alt Beverage
  
• 6-Gal. Better Bottle - Midwest Supplies
  
  Well would you look at that... the local place has better prices on some of that stuff. Huh, and here I thought you could only get better prices online.

Are you looking for a recipe that specifically uses ginger bug? I've only done a little fermentation as far as food, but I've done a little more of beverages. If you seal your concoction right after bottling, you can put it in the fridge as soon as it's carbonated and it will not have produced much alcohol (based on my limited experience with homebrewing). The fridge will stop it from carbonating as long as it's below 45-50 F-ish, so you want to leave it at room temp until it carbonates.

If you're concerned about how much alcohol it produces, I recommend making a small batch and bottling it in 2 containers. Seal one so it carbonates and give the other one a bubbler so it won't carbonate. When the sealed one finishes carbonating, you can check the alcohol level with a hydrometer (do you have friends who homebrew? I bet you could borrow theirs). I assume the carbonated one will have a similar amount of alcohol. Note: you do need to measure with the hydrometer both before and after fermenting to know the alcohol content. Plenty of resources online to find the calculation. Edit: I forgot to say - check the alcohol content of the non-carbed bottle as the carbonation will mess with your hydrometer readings.

If you're willing to not use your ginger bug, read on!

This recipe uses bread yeast to carbonate (is that heresy on this sub? I've not spent much time here). It takes just a day or two to carbonate then you put it in the fridge to stop the yeast. Tastes pretty good!

From some personal experimenting, the flavor ratio I like is:

• 10g sugar
  
• 10g ginger juice
  
• 20g lemon juice
  
• 140g water
  
  This quantity isn't much (maybe 3/4 c?) but the ratio should scale up. I was playing around with tablespoon-type amounts because I didn't want to go through loads and loads of ginger. For the ginger juice, I grated the ginger with the grater blade on my food processor (had to stop to pull fibers out of the holes every so often) and then hand-squeezed the juice out of the pulp.
  
  It's fairly ginger-spicy (which I find good) but not overpowering. You can always start with less water and add more as necessary. I used this lemon:ginger ratio because more lemon made it taste like ginger-flavored lemonade (good, but not my goal) and more ginger made it taste like disinfecting floor cleaner (also not my goal). I played with sweetness by making a light syrup (25 g sugar to 100 g water) and trying varying levels of that in the final mix.

To piggy back on u/stormbeforedawn's comment.

This is the equipment I used that I've had good luck with so far. It's what he recommended, I'm just providing links to the specific product I used.

• 2 gal primary bucket
  
  
• 1 gal secondary glass
  
  
• Autosiphon
  
  
• racking cane
  
  
• Hydrometer
  
  
• Starsan
  
  
• GoFerm
  
  
• I used Fermaid O, not Fermaid K, because I was following a specific nutrient regimen. It's called TONSA 2.0. Popular, but apparently not cost efficient with larger batches. People better at this than I can answer nutrient schedule questions.
  
  
• Bubbler/Airlock.
  
  
• Bottles and cap method are your preferance. You can get bottles of tons of shapes, colors and styles. Corked, capped, swingtop, etc. Just make sure the bottles are food-safe and not decorative hobby/thrift store stuff. If you use corks, same rule, don't use decorative stuff. You'll want #8 agglomerated cork and a hand corker tool to put the corks on. #9 corks work too, but you'll need heavy tools (like a floor corker) to do that..

You don't necessarily have to take gravity readings, but you won't know for sure that fermentation is complete without them. In that case I would wait 2 weeks before bottling. Some beer will be done fermenting in less than a week, but there is no way of really knowing unless you can verify that the gravity readings are steady over a couple days. If you bottle before fermentation is complete you can end up with exploding bottles. 2 weeks is a pretty safe bet for most beers.

If you are doing extract and hit your volumes it would be hard to screw up your starting gravity, so you could safely assume that it will be close to what the recipe calls for. At some point I'd invest in a cheap hydrometer (<$10) though. Something like this https://www.amazon.com/HYDROMETER-ALCOHOL-PROOF-Tralle-Bellwether/dp/B013S1VAM4

Good luck!

From my background in homebrewing, I find it very doubtful that you can take time, temperature, and ingredients and get the values you want in anything approaching accuracy. There is just too much variation from the yeast/bacteria culture. What strains, how many cells there are, how healthy they are, all of these things will make the outcome dramatically different.

That is why homebrewers use the trusty hydrometer!

These things are relatively inexpensive and easy to use (although I know from experience that they are also pretty easy to break). Take a reading at the beginning of the ferment, one at the end, plug the two numbers into any of a thousand online calculators, and voila, you have the ABV and and a rough estimate of the sugars as well. The calories is a bit tougher and I don't know anything about that.

This is a Hydrometer, it's used to test the gravity of alcohol while brewing. How does this relate? Simple. Hydrometer tests gravity, so the lighter the liquid you're brewing the higher the % of alcohol content. So, you use the meter to find out how hammered you'll get! If you give something like our mead which is 12% alcohol but tastes like sweet honey- your girl will squeak with delight while getting hammered. squeaky hammers. Use with caution!

This has been public service announcement from Revmamacrystal

Just pick up a basic hydrometer that has specific gravity points on it. Like this one. I'd also pick up a 100mL graduated cylinder if you don't already have one, and a thermometer if you don't have one. I'm assuming you live in Saskatchewan, so I posted a Amazon Canada link. I live in Alberta and bought a lot of my supplies off of Amazon.

===

As for the recipe, I'd increase the amount of malt barley you are using. I personally set malt barley at minimum 20% of the grain bill if using it, and use a 6-row malt barley if you can get it, for a higher diastatic power (DP). Rye has a lower DP than even 2-row barley. Corn has 0 DP, so it won't be helping out at all, and that's a lot of starch that the enzymes need to help break down into sugars. You could also try adding enzymes, alpha-amylase (sometimes just called amylase enzyme) and glucoamylase.

Essentially, you calculate it like this, and you are aiming for a Lintner value above 70, if you want it to convert all the starches within about an hour. Above 30 for it to be able to convert it all, at all. Getting it over 100 if you can, is the best way to go about it, or adding enzymes.

5lbs 105 Lintner (Rye) = 525 Lintner

4.5lbs 0 Lintner (Corn) = 0 Lintner

0.5lbs 110 Lintner (2-row Barley) = 55 Lintner

525 + 0 + 55 = 580 Lintner / 10lbs (total grain weight) = 58 Lintner. A little too low.

If you are using 6-row Barley, it has a Lintner of ~150. So you get.

5lbs 105 Lintner (Rye) = 525 Lintner

4.5lbs 0 Lintner (Corn) = 0 Lintner

0.5lbs 150 Lintner (6-row Barley) = 75 Lintner

525 + 0 + 75 = 600 Lintner / 10lbs (total grain weight) = 60 Lintner. Still a bit too low.

Change things around so you have more 6-row Barley.

4lbs 105 Lintner (Rye) = 420 Lintner

4lbs 0 Lintner (Corn) = 0 Lintner

2lbs 150 Lintner (6-row Barley) = 300 Lintner

420 + 0 + 300 = 720 Lintner / 10lbs (total grain weight) = 72 Lintner. About as low as you want to go. You could even go 3lbs Rye, 3lbs 6-row, and get 76.5 Lintner.

Now if you add enzymes, alpha-amylase and glucoamylase, the same enzymes that are in the grain, just in excess. Everything will get converted. For a 5gal wash, I'd put in like, 1/2tsp of each.

I would use the 4/4/2 at minimum. If you then just want to jack up the alcohol, throw in some sugar as well before you pitch your yeast.

===

Do you do an iodine test before pitching yeast? If not, it's a good simple indicator if any starches are left. When you think you are near the end of starch conversion, put some of the mash liquid into a small glass bottle, test tube, whatever. Add a few drops of iodine, if it turns purple/blue, there is still starch left, and you might want to let it sit longer, or add enzymes to finish the rest of the starches off before pitching..

===

If you add sugar, the yeast will ferment it, and you'll have a longer running, but more potent mash. It won't be any sweeter, sweetness comes from additions after distillation, or from the aging process. If you meant add it after distillation, I'd go by taste.

As for the maple, I'd add it after as well. Or see if you can find sugar maple wood for aging, and if that doesn't add enough maple taste, then add a bit of real* maple syrup.

For my own recommendation I would say do an extract beer can kit. You'll get about 40 bottles of beer out of it.

Almost everything below you can get at your local homebrew shop. In fact, many of these items might be part of a "beer starter kit" etc. I do recommend getting the 5 gallon carboy instead of a kit with pails. You'll thank me later. pails can get messy.

1. Coopers Brew Can Kit ($15) *comes with yeast you need
   
2. A 5 gallon carboy (I recommend a big mouth plastic one) ($20)
   
3. An Airlock for your carboy ($5)
   
4. A 4 foot blowoff tube to attach to the airlock center column ($5)
   
5. An empty 2L pop bottle to use as the blowoff container. (free)
   
6. 1KG of sugar *and some more for bottling later ($2)
   
7. A Hydrometer to take your Specific Gravity readings and a container for the hydrometer $25
   
8. A 5 Gallon pot $30 (I highly recommend you follow the kit or use 3 gallons of water during the heating/boiling as I have done...dont try to boil 5 gallons in a 5 gallon pot)
   
9. An Auto-Siphon for siphoning the beer. $13
   
10. A Wine Thief for stealing the samples from your beer (which you read with the hydrometer and then drink) without disturbing the beer too much and risking infection. $13
    
    Total $128 by my guestimates, but you do get 2 cases of beer out of it and $113 worth of brew equipment. Hell, in Ontario the two cases of beer can easily be more expensive than $128 lol... Not cheap, but everything here you will use over and over and over again (except of course the sugar and the brew kit)
    
    ---------------------------------
    
    The Coopers Can Kit comes with instructions to make your beer, a hopped extract and yeast.
    
    After you make your beer it'll be a few weeks before the fermentation is done (which you'll know by hydrometer readings)
    
    In that time you can start getting your stuff together for bottling and carbonating them.
    
    You'll also need (for bottling) 48 empty clean bottles (cleaned and then sanitized with star-san solution) NON TWIST OFF TYPE
    A handheld Beer capper
    Bottle caps (box)
    
    
    I gotta run, but this was fun to type out. If you need any help, glad to help ya.

How "good" of a hydrometer do I need? Is it worth spending extra money?

I'm looking on Amazon and trying to figure out which hydrometer to purchase.

Do I need this or is this sufficient.

Any help is appreciated. I figured I wouldn't make a whole new thread, and you seem to know whatsup.

Thanks.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0735B5YND/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

I just bought this one for my second batch it is super user friendly, affordable, and overall really helps you be scientific.

1. It's common for people to use boiled (and chilled) or bottled water, but you're probably fine with tap. Topping off with water is typical for an extract recipe, where you boil the malt extract to get hop utilization and top off with water to hit your target volume.
   
   
2. Did you use StarSan? I've only ever added water to it and haven't had problems. You are right about rinsing, it defeats the purpose.
   
   
3. I doubt there was enough vodka to affect anything. If you are using StarSan you may want to simply use that in the airlock in place of vodka.
   
   
4. You need a test jar so that the hydrometer stays upright and can be easily read.
   
   
5. After a few weeks, take readings spaced a few days apart. If the gravity doesn't change, you're good to bottle. Remember that bubbling in the airlock is not a substitute for taking readings, you need a measurement before you can safely bottle.
   
   
6. I've never tried but my understanding is that the growler isn't necessarily rated for the pressure you could achieve in the bottle. My advice is to pick up a case of swing top bottles as they can handle bottle conditioning and will save you time when bottling.

The list I have for my husband has several alcohol related items. He'd be overjoyed with a hydrometer since he's really interested in making his own stuff. Thanks for the contest! Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses

32 oz is 946.353ml. mol seives can hold
18-20% of their weight in h2o.
so 1 gram of the seives can hold .2 ml of h20.
you can use a hydrometer to find the % of etoh present before dehydration. https://www.amazon.com/HYDROMETER-ALCOHOL-0-200-Tralle-Bellwether/dp/B07G95FSLZ
Do the math like this:

1. find how much h20 you need to remove. take the volume (946.353ml)
   and multiply it by the %. [ I use 75% for this example]
   946.353.75= 709.76475ml
   subtract the pure etoh volume from the total volume.
   946.353-709.76475=236.58825ml
   
   so in this example you have 236.58ml of h2o to remove.
   
   next multiply the h20 to be removed by the absorbtion ratio of 20%
   so:
   236.58 .2= 47.31765
   
   In this example you need 47.31765gr of seives to dehydrate your etoh.
   
   In actuall practice I would add probably 55-65 grams depending on seive quality.
   always add slightly more than you need.
   
   The nice thing about seives are ease of removal once dehydration is complete, and the ability to continually regenerate them.
   

Going to brew my first batch today from a kit my wife got me for Christmas. On advice from a friend who's into homebrewing she also got me a hydrometer. The hydrometer is virtually identical to this one, only has measurements for 0-200 proof, and specifically says it's for distilled alcohol and not beer.

So a few questions:

1. Am I correct in assuming there's no real use I can get from using this hydrometer?
   
2. Can someone recommend a new hydrometer off of amazon?
   
3. Is there anything I need to keep in mind while making this batch of beer without measuring the specific gravity- just follow the directions, and I should be good?

I really like [this one] (http://www.amazon.com/RiteBrew-Hydrometer-Triple-Scale/dp/B000E60U6Y/ref=pd_bxgy_misc_text_c) from amazon. I recommend getting the testing cylinder as well. (~$7) I take gravity 3 times. Right after boil (original gravity, aka initial gravity), when I transfer to secondary, and when fermentation is done (final gravity). This tells me my % alcohol using this simple calculator. This really helps to get consistent results, and lets me know when fermentation is complete.

And that's Mr. Madbrewer to you :P

Triple Scale Hydrometer - $1.23 @ Amazon

12" Hydrometer Test Jar - $2.40 @ Amazon

Same vendor so you don't get smacked for shipping twice. This is seriously an almost required piece of equipment.

However, I ALWAYS recommend your LHBS first. I'll pay $20 at the LHBS for something I can get for $15 online just to keep the local guys in business. Good luck with the brew!

*EDIT: Fixed link

Sorry for your loss bud.

The whiskey is possibly already proofed, or diluted, down to 40% (80 proof) for drinking, but he may have left it higher for proper aging. "Barrel strength" whiskey is at least 125 proof so the alcohol pulls more flavor from the wood.

The best way to determine this is with an alcometer. Here's a link. These usually come with a graduated cylinder to hold the liquid, but I didn't see a set with both. You'll need to drain some whiskey from the barrel into a tall glass or wide mouth bottle, then lower the alcometer into the whiskey. Make sure you have enough liquor in there so the alcometer is floating, not touching the bottom. That will show you the proof of the whiskey.

If you need to dilute it down to 40%, or 80 proof, you can use this calculator. Just put in the amount of whiskey, what the current proof is, and it'll tell you how much water to add. Use distilled water or bottled spring water.

You may have some carbon grit or wood splinters in the whiskey. Filter it through a coffee filter to get that out.

You can flavor the whiskey, but your dad already went to the trouble of flavoring it for you with the barrel. I'd try it with a few ice cubes and nothing else first, just to see how it is.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Temperature plays a HUGE role with both refractometers and hydrometers. Try taking a reading with a refract right out of the kettle vs one that you cooled down to 68F manually before sampling it, ATC or not. Mine is off about 8 points usually. Hydrometers are similar. Always take the temperature of the sample you're measuring and use a calculator to get the correct reading. I use a professional hydrometer with a temperature correction scale on it and it's usually a 0.2-0.3 point correction (plato). Highly recommend them.

SafetyBlue ThermoHydrometer 0/8.5 Plato; 0/50°C Thermometer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YUU4R78/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YooWAbSNF4FH4

Remove the top, pull out a sample (or a couple if you need to), and fill container tall enough to float your hydrometer. I use a glass tube like this test jar but you may be able to jury rig a similar one from the tube your hydrometer came in.

Do not pour your sample back into your beer, that can lead to contamination. Feel free to taste it though.

So, as far as hydrometers go. Ive never used one before, nor do I know what I'm looking for when shopping for one. here is one that I found on amazon for relatively cheap, but would you say this would work fine, or should I get a different one. I would like to use one for my first batch when I get my kit sometime this or next week.

A couple of comments about the recipe and equipment list:

FIrst, the recipe calls for torrified wheat which must be converted in a mash. The recipe has no base malts with diastatic power (enzymes) to convert the starches in the wheat into fermentable sugars. I would recommend using a wheat DME to replace the torrified wheat unless you want to start off with a partial mash by including some 2-row or pale ale malt.

Second, I cannot recommend the Brewery Essentials hydrometer. I had requested and received a set for Christmas last year and found none of the three were properly calibrated. I wrote to Northern Brewer with pictures demonstrating that the hydrometers were off by 2 to 3 points (all reading low) and they replaced them with a second set. The second set was no better.

You would be better off with a quality set such as this one from Brewing America: https://www.amazon.com/Specific-Gravity-Hydrometer-Alcohol-Tester/dp/B072LK2LSP/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2LJ836OD7I1EE&keywords=hydrometer+specific+gravity&qid=1569078362&sprefix=hydromters%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-7

> Take SG readings, you'll be happy you did if something arises or to know your ABV% and when to bottle - get in the habit of knowing and understanding how to take/use SG's

When do you suggest I should take the readings and do you think a hydrometer such as this one is sufficient enough?

Everyone's got time for it! Next time you're at the store, get a gallon or two of apple juice... the one in the glass jug. Get one or two Of these and a few packets Of this and you're good to go. If you want to get to the scientific part, get one of these to measure potential and finished alcohol content.

Dump out 1/3 of the juice, add more sugar for more alcohol if you want, add the yeast, put the air lock on and throw it in a dark place for a few weeks ;)

Oh yes, and it is quite simple to get the stuff together without buying a kit. Do you have a local home brew store?

This subreddit's wiki which includes a beginner section: https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/wiki/index
There are several videos on youtube that have good instructions.

Here is a basic list of gear to brew beer in a bag. You can get all of this stuff on amazon if you don't have it already. This is not the best list, but it works.
http://homebrewmanual.com/home-brewing-equipment/


Some of the stuff you won't likely have at home:

• Starsan: http://amzn.com/B01467UGN8
  
  
• Hydrometer: http://amzn.com/B013S1VAM4
  
  
• Grain bag for Brew in a Bag: http://amzn.com/B00CA5PH4W
  
  
• Bottle Capper: http://amzn.com/B001D6KGTK
  
  
• siphon: http://amzn.com/B0064ODELI
  
  
• airlock: http://amzn.com/B00A6TRKO4
  
  
• bottle caps: http://amzn.com/B000Q64T8M
  
  Beer recipes: http://beerrecipes.org/
  
  To get grains from amazon, type in the grain type and it will provide you options. If you don't have the ability to mill it yourself, you can order it crushed. Its not ideal, but if you don't have a homebrew store near you and don't have your own mill....it will work. You will have to measure out the correct amounts for each grain that you add on your own from the bulk that you ordered. If you want to brew with extracts, you can also order those on amazon as well.
  
  You can order hops on amazon the same way as grains or extracts.
  
  
  

To add onto the explanation of u/gregbenson314, gravity is measured by using either a hydrometer or refractometer (although you have to use calculations with the refractometer to account for the alcohol in solution for your second gravity reading).

Also, there are handy calculators where you can plug in your original and final gravities to figure out your ABV.

Yup, it definitely looks like it's the wrong scale for wort. It looks like it's a proof and tralle hydrometer, which would be used for liquors and spirits.

Here is the type of hydrometer you would need. They are most often labeled as "triple scale" hydrometers.

To be honest it's going to be a good prison hooch, Hold off and get a Hydrometer

Airlock with #6 Stopper then go shopping at the cvs,rite aid,market for a 1 gallon cheap wine ($8-9) and dump the wine and wash the jug well. Now you can start making cider.

My recipe: Apple juice (1.040), Can of tree top apple juice concentrate (1.035) now add enough concentrate to get the gravity reading up to 1.065 (about 113 grams or 1/3 can) and munich classic wheat beer yeast and let it ferment about 30 days. It should be done fermenting (1.012 or so) and is drinkable or let it age longer.

Not used EC-1118 but seems like 30 days should have been done but The time it takes is relative to many points: temperature, quantity and quality of yeast. I'm going to guess let it go and get hydrometer.

Well, using the Almighty Amazon - I find this.

Reading the description on that page leads me to this find

> hygrometer

Legitimately not trying to be a dick, but I really hope you bought a hydrometer and not a hygrometer (which will always read 100% in mead).

Your LHBS should have hydrometer tubes. If not, you can order them online as well.

This one from NB and this one from Amazon should work just fine.

Depends on your alcohol tolerance, really.
In the US, 3.5% beer is not unheard of. Most of it is the "lite" stuff.

I'd say you'd need to drink between 60 and 96 ounces to get buzzed, depending on your tolerance.

After that, getting hammered starts to get challenging. It's just a lot of fluid to process.

If you're looking to cut costs, PM me your address. I've got some extra Lalvin yeast packets I can send you. I normally get between 13 and 16% abv out of my wines.

If you've got a little bit of money to sink into this, and I do mean a little bit, look at this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohio-Fermenter-Capacity/dp/B00KQN9OSK/

That's a fermentation carboy, airlock and bung.

Add in this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohio-Hydrometer-Triple/dp/B01C5P6GNW/ so you can accurately measure the alcohol levels.

Then the proper yeast: https://www.amazon.com/Lalvin-D-47-Wine-Yeast-Pack/dp/B0080XSES4/

Some cleaning stuff: https://www.amazon.com/One-Step-No-Rinse-Cleaner/dp/B07G1ZR8HQ/

For less than $40, you could have a starter kit for wine making. Then it'd just be "pour the juice in, and let it sit."

Something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Brewers-Elite-Hydrometer-Combo-Hardcase/dp/B01KVCGRGW/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1524609033&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=hydrometer&psc=1

> do I have a stuck fermentation?

It's very hard to tell without a hydrometer.

If you know what your original gravity was and the yeast you put in it, you can calculate a rough 'expected' finishing gravity. If your current specific gravity is nowhere near that expected finishing gravity, then it may be stuck.

Or, like happiersadist said, it's just taking some time before fermentation becomes apparent again.

Edit: You can even calculate your original gravity, so if you didn't start out with a hydrometer, it's not too late to go out and get one so you can see where you stand.

Stuff like this: http://www.eepowersolutions.com/categories/digital-hydrometers-density-meters-sg-series/

Only $4500! http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Eye-SG-Ultra-Max-Data-Logging/dp/B00E84I0F6

did that come with the brewer's best kit? I got that kit, and found the hydrometer jar useless.

bought one of these on amazon to replace it

You are going to have to get a Hydrometer to check if the gravity is changing, or is already back down to 1.000 (or less) there is only so much we can help you without knowing the reading.

Here you go-

3-Piece Air Locks, 3 Piece... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7TN5BY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Red Star Red Star Premier Blanc... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00434CB74?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

ATP - Vinyl-Flex PVC Food Grade... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PXJDESI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

HYDROMETER - ALCOHOL, 0-200 PROOF... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013S1VAM4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient, 2 oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0149IY8F6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

As far as recipes, I’m still working on these first 2. Adding black tea and raisins and b-vitamins seems to have kept things bubbling.

As far as juices, I get most everything from Aldi (or Trader Joe’s if you’re fancy) very few preservatives, dirt cheap prices and unique flavored juices (Harissa Mango Pineapple juice??!?)

Hope that helps! I’ll post updates as the batch progresses. 2 days from now I’ll probably cold crash and do a gelatin clarifier.

That kit in your edit looks pretty darn good to me. Bonus for including a hydrometer. I'd probably get that considering the price point (the buckets, capper, and siphon alone make it worth the price). I'm not sure about Idophor, but Starsan can be

Idophor does not foam but take a couple minutes to sanitize. Star san santinizes in 30 seconds and foams quite heavily. The foam isn't harmful and does not need to be rinsed.

The only real advantage of having a car boy is the fact that you can scrub it with an abrasive. It MAY be nice to see where your krausen levels are to determine whether you need a blowoff tube or not, but there's no harm in opening a fermentation bucket just a tad for a little peek.

Yes, you'd basically need two of everything for sours (or at least, everything that touches the beer/wort after it has been infected with the souring bugs).

edit: I just noticed the kit doesn't include a hydrometer test jar or thief to use for hydrometer testing. Not being able to measure gravity will not prevent you from brewing, but it does allow you to; calculate ABV, control ABV pre-fermentation, and identify if problems have occurred during the brewing process.

Sure! I believe it was this one or very similar https://www.amazon.com/Specific-Gravity-Hydrometer-Test-Kit/dp/B001X27L9W/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=precision+hydrometer&qid=1574282443&sr=8-1

What is the proper way to read gravity on my hydrometer, top of the meniscus or bottom? Example: What's my FG for my most recent brew?

I've heard the read-point can be hydrometer-specific, so for reference, my hydrometer is this one on amazon, but I can't find any detailed info there. Is there a general rule on which to go by?

I have a classic example of what happens to plastics exposed to high-concentration alcohol from my first run. I was using a standard acrylic tube, sold at your LHBS for floating a hydrometer, to collect distillate right out of the condenser. I was then floating my proof and tralle hydrometer in it to get a snapshot of the proof coming off my still. Long story short the well pump kicked off, causing the house water pressure to drop enough that I barely had any flow going through the condenser and it started to blow out alcohol vapor. This was quickly remedied by opening the valve more for my cooling water, but it destroyed the acrylic tube. Keep in mind it was only exposed to alcohol vapor for about a second.

Imgur

It was perfectly clear before it happened, and the entire inside of the tube turned white and the plastic became very brittle. In fact there should be a base on the tube, but it broke off when I set the tube down in the sink. I've gone to a glass sample tube now.

Keep in mind that if you try to go with a plastic condenser that the distillate will be entering while still in vapor form. If it doesn't immediately destroy it, I can't imagine what kinds of chemicals would be leached out (if nothing else just dissolved plastic) and added to your product.

I use a Proof and Tralle Hydrometer. Not too expensive. Very accurate, especially when proofing back spirit for consumption.

​

​

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00FDOHMHM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ok, so I should definitely have one before starting my brew? I just ordered this one. I wanted to start my brew on Sunday, but might need to wait until Monday night.

Apologies. I tried to clean it up but I guess I lopped off too much of the URI.

https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Shop-Hydrometer-Test-Sampling/dp/B00LORN69K/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537228222&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=Hydrometer+test+sampling

That one would work fine. Get a test jar too while you're at it.

If you're purely just fermenting cider, then you're looking at around 3.5%-4.5% cider. I would suggest getting a Hydrometer to take gravity readings of your cider before primary fermentation and then once again at the end of fermentation and then plugging that into an ABV calculator so you'll know exactly how much you have! You can get a hydrometer here for $8 so it's a worthwhile investment.

On adding more sugar, did you start fermenting yet?

you'll need a hydrometer and graduated cylinder. You could instead get a refractometer which uses much less beer to take a sample but requires more attention to detail because you need to adjust for alcohol in the sample. You'll also need a way to get the sample out of your bucket/carboy so a wine thief or stainless baster should getcha there

https://www.amazon.com/Chefast-Hydrometer-Test-Wine-Kombucha/dp/B0735B5YND

Might be a test jar for a hydrometer https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Hydrometer-Test-Jar/dp/B00KN2AP6Y

https://www.amazon.com/Specific-Gravity-Hydrometer-Test-Kit/dp/B001X27L9W/ref=sxin_3_osp20-bdaadc92_cov?ascsubtag=bdaadc92-0892-42b5-8e38-49ac87eab2a9&creativeASIN=B001X27L9W&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osp.bdaadc92-0892-42b5-8e38-49ac87eab2a9&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-search&keywords=hydrometer+alcohol&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B001X27L9W&pd_rd_r=897188e9-935e-4110-bd38-5994ba113804&pd_rd_w=wkbgy&pd_rd_wg=OEOAg&pf_rd_p=caff9d8f-b168-49ec-abab-fc9b7b84cd0f&pf_rd_r=HM2G3DE9FVKV5S1K64VQ&qid=1564800866&s=gateway&sprefix=hydrometer+al&tag=bestcont06-20

I don't have experience with this specific hydrometer but the source (midwest homebrewing) is reputable. That's what I'd go for.

Something's not right, get one of these

this one is $4. I say get two, just in case one brakes.

http://www.amazon.com/E-C-Kraus-Alchohol-Hydrometer/dp/B00838XPQM/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_4

I might get one, I would use it every day.

This is what you want.

just came to echo what MisterMillenia said... this isn't the tool you're looking for.

this is

Did you buy this hydrometer? This one is for spirits I think, it won't work with beer.

In case those links don’t work

Home Brew Ohio Glass Wine Fermenter Includes Rubber Stopper and Airlock, 1 gallon Capacity https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KQN9OSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TPwLBbTPBQJ6J

Home Brew Ohio Hydrometer, Triple Scale https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C5P6GNW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EQwLBb78PRVRG

Quick search found: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0735B5YND/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_P1dOBb43NYQDR

They can be picked up at any brewing store, or on amazon, just make sure you arent getting a proof & tralle hydrometer as those are for distilled spirits.

If you are desperate to know you could crack back the top of your vessel and using a sanitized spoon pull some out and taste it, if it is as sweet as when you made it odds are your yeast was dead in the package when you pitched it

Of the four things, only the first and third are functional on their own, but here you go...

1. Wine thief. This is used to pull wort and beer out of your fermentor to check the specific gravity
   
2. Racking cane. This needs an auto siphon, but without knowing the diameter of that cane, I couldn't say what size of siphon to get.
   
3. You'd think this was a siphon, but it looks more like another type of wine thief
   
4. Hydrometer test jar... Needs a hydrometer

Hmm, just water then? My cylinder is like this one and the base screws on and off.

However, if yours doesn't screw off, and it has a balancing problem, then it may be touching the sides somewhat causing an inaccurate reading.